DepEd advice: Buy nontoxic supplies, patronize discount caravan

Education Secretary Armin Luistro

Take advantage of cheaper and discounted prices, but make sure to look for “nontoxic” labels on school supplies, the Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday advised parents and students.

Check out as well the Department of Trade and Industry’s “Diskwento Caravan” where quality school supplies are available at discounted prices of at least 10 percent off, Education Secretary Armin Luistro added.

The discount caravan started rolling out across the country on May 15 and will motor to various locations nationwide until June 28.

Luistro said the caravan is part of the government’s thrust to make quality school supplies available to the public at affordable prices.

“With interagency coordination and with support from local manufacturers and private business groups, we can offer huge discounts on school opening essentials for the public schools,” the DepEd chief said in an e-mailed statement on Monday.

He said the DTI will publish in national broadsheets and indicate on widely distributed posters the suggested retail prices of school supplies to serve as a guide to the buying public.

But Luistro reminded the public about the advice of the DTI’s Bureau of Product Standards to look for “nontoxic” labels on school supplies to make sure that their level of toxicity is deemed acceptable by the Department of Health.

Today (Tuesday), the Diskwento Caravan will be in Iloilo, at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand and Jordan Municipal Hall. It will also be in Tacloban City, Leyte, on the capitol grounds in Sta. Cruz, Laguna, and at the Pasig City Hall.  Region IX will be its last destination in May, as the caravan parks at Plaza Pershing, Zamboanga City, on May 30-31.

For the month of June, the caravan is set to kick off on June 1 in Taguig City and Zamboanga del Norte.

Region VI will have a six-day schedule for the caravan on June 5, 6, 8, 15 and 18 in Guimaras, and on June 14-16 at Villamonte village, Taculing, Bacolod City.

The caravan will be in Cagayan de Oro City and Davao Oriental on June 15, in Zamboanga City on June 22 and in Polangui, Albay, from June 26 to 28.